EVERY day, week, month and even year, has its uniqueness which people who live through them remember for good or bad. Some unique events linger in the memory for ever, stirring up emotion in the individual.
Those who lost their limbs or their loved ones to the Southern Kaduna killings this year, for instance or those who became jobless on account of the economic recession, or got a job in spite of it. The list is endless.
Niger State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Muhammed Ketso, ticks off his most memorable moment in 2016 as the day his hometown, Ketso, was overrun by flood released from the Shiroro Dam over River Niger.
The flood swept away everything on its path: houses, farmlands. Officials estimate that the losses were in millions of naira.
He said: “This type of flooding has become persistent owing to the inability of the Federal Government to establish a Hydro Electric Power Producing Development Commission (HYPPADEC) to take care of communities downstream of River Niger.
“By divine intervention, no life was lost and that makes the day a day of sadness and joy for me.”
Challenging! That is how Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State described the outgoing year.
Faced by a huge cut in revenue allocation from the central purse, the state government has been battling hard to meet its financial obligations but Aregbesola said he has tried to use “creative measures to manage the resources of the state to sustain development in a recession, building and commissioning schools and roads as well as running Social Protection Programmes.”
He added: “Our experience in 2016 is like squeezing water from stone. But glory be to God that I was able to avoid labour unrest through innovative engagement of workers in the allocation of the limited revenue of government by creating a revenue apportionment committee involving all relevant stakeholders under the leadership of a trustworthy veteran labour leader, Comrade Hassan Sunmonu.
“I am also full of joy for bringing President Muhammadu Buhari to commission a state of the art 3,000 capacity Osogbo Government High School, Osogbo, a testament to our commitment to education and ensuring a future of hope in creating a new person that will be socially responsible and motivated.
“Other achievements that gladden my heart are our ability as government to guarantee security through effective maintenance of law and order; successfully sustaining the world acclaimed Osun School Feeding Programme – O’Meals – which is now adopted nationally by the Federal Government; and ending the year with the payment of arrears of modulated salaries and pensions.
“These are the memorable things that happened in the year. It was like turning adversity to opportunity for development and greatness, through innovations and sacrifices. We are eternally grateful to our allies in making these achievements possible, the people in their various occupations, social and economic classes; workers in the public and private sectors, students, security operatives, progressive politicians, market women and men, transport workers and owners, teachers, traders, farmers, religious leaders and traditional rulers andchiefs.”
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, said the coronation of Oba Ewuare II as the 40th Oba of Benin, which coincided with his electoral victory and inauguration as the 5th Governor of Edo State, made his 2016.
Obaseki said the coronation provided the opportunity to show the world the rich tradition and culture of the Edo civilisation during the coronation of his Royal Majesty Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Eware II.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. John Mayaki, Obaseki said: “This generational display of splendour and culture fortuitously coincided with my victory and inauguration as the 5th Governor of Edo State. Both events, with their promises of a new beginning, are historic as they are auspicious because they both came into office in an atmosphere of great expectations.
“For Obaseki in particular, it came as something of pride not only to witness the milestone in the Great Benin Kingdom, but as a major participant. We’ve never been more hopeful about Edo State and the progressive government and virile traditional institution as we are experiencing. And this hope, Edo people will sustain under our new Oba and our new governor.”
Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State picks the visit of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to the state and the release of N5billion to the state by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for agricultural development as the standout events for him in the outgoing year.
Obiano spoke to The Nation through his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr James Eze.
For Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State and many other citizens, peace is the major thing that makes the outgoing year remarkable and exciting.
Special Adviser to Governor Lalong on Media and publicity, Dan Manjang said: “If the people said the outgoing year should be taken as a year of total peace, they are right because, it had been 13 years of violent crisis in the state and every citizen of the state has hoped and prayed for a permanent peace. The much expected lasting peace was made possible in 2016.
“But then, the credit must go to a governor who made that promise during his campaign and did all he could to fulfill that promise. So, as the year 2016 will go down as the year of absolute peace on the plateau, Gov Lalong should be taken as the ‘man of peace’ by citizens of Nigeria and the world over.”
The business communities on the plateau and youths who needed jobs will tell you the best thing that happened to the state in 2016 was the creation of numerous jobs by Governor Lalong through the revival of moribund industries in the state which obviously create hundred of jobs to the youths.
The civil servants will take the payment of inherited 11 months of salary arrears to them and pensioners as the most exciting event in the state in 2016. This is because, using the recent London-Paris loan refund, Gov Lalong cleared all salaries and pension arrears before Christmas. As at December 25th, no single worker or pensioner of the state is owed any kobo by the state government, said Mr. Manjang.
For Cross River governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, the outgoing year is good. Mr. Christian Ita, Chief Press Secretary to Cross River Governor Ben Ayade, said: “I really cannot think of any bad moment, because despite the recession, the state is paying salaries regularly and even ahead of time. So all is well in the state.
“We have not had any terrible experience this year, but we have had a very good one, which is the Supreme Court ruling that affirmed Prof. Ben Ayade as governor of Cross River State. That took away the distraction and tension that was around.
“So I can say the Supreme Court judgment is the highpoint, because it was a bit of a distraction. Now that has been set aside, we can move forward.”
Agba Akin Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oloye Lekan Alabi states his unique experience of in the outgoing year thus: “Even though I have received several awards in and outside Nigeria, the ‘Recognition Award’ given to me on Friday, December 9, 2016 by the Oyo State Council for Arts and Culture stands out, thus making the presentation to me, my most unique experience in 2016.
“Without being immodest, I march in front, with other patriots, for the sustenance and advancement of our time-honoured tradition and culture. God created all the races and tribes of the world, and He gave them all their varying traditions and cultures. Culture is an umbrella under which you have the mother-tongue, food, dress, music, names, philosophy, belief, etc.
“It, therefore, behoves each race/tribe, be it Yoruba, Ibo, Junkum, Scot, Arab, English, Jew, Chinese, Italian, French, German Greek etc to cherish, sustain and promote their traditions and culture. In summary, I thank, once again, the Oyo State Council for Arts and Culture, for the award which is a propeller for me to strive harder for culture appreciation, and The Nation newspaper for a platform to indicate my most unique experience in 2016.”
For Jennifer Nkeiruka Okorie, her emerging as Miss Global Ambassador in Nigeria is the high point of her journey through the year, coming a year after she was crowned Miss Goodluck Southeast.
But March 4, 2016 is a date Anambra State top politician Chief Joe Ifediobi wishes never came. On that day, Ifediobi, lost his 33-year-old daughter Ekwutosi, leaving a six month old son.
Businessman Modestus Umenzekwe is one of those who were at the receiving end of the economic recession, by his own account. He said his business was hard hit in the year, making it difficult for him to assist those who depend on him for succour.
Celebrities are not left out. Musicians: Kenny Saint Brown, Adewale Ayuba, Wale Thompson and Music producer Femi Lasode, among others, also relive their most memorable events of the year.
Kenny Saint Brown (musician) says: “My unique experience this year is the fact that I was able to create my own platform after a long while. The beginning of the year 2016 was rough for me, so also was the middle of the year.
“But towards the end of the year, everything picked up momentum and November and December have been most amazing for me. I had an event in November at Victoria Island. The concert was an all-female gospel concert which has now become very popular.
“And we will be having it every year now. It has turned into a big brand for me now. Also I am part of the Lagos State end of the year music fiesta; I performed two days ago, and will perform again before the year ends. So it’s been a great year for me. As regards next year, it’s going to be music, music and music.”
Adewale Ayuba (musician): “My most unique experience is that God has been with me throughout . I was able to create digitalised fuji music. I tried to bring fuji back to the dance hall and during this year, I finally achieved that.
“But to achieve that, I had to open a new digital studio and even an analogue studio. I eventually got both. I had to do both together. Fuji music comes from analogue. I had to create the digital but without the analogue, I couldn’t do that.
“I thank God that He made me to achieve that. Also, I had a single released from the digital fuji studio entitled Bonsue Fuji from Africa.
“Next year, we will do another single before we eventually put everything together to make an album. I also thank God because I was also able to keep in touch with God. I got closer and closer to God and I dedicated myself more to Him. I depended more on God.”
Wale Thompson (musician): “Taking my music to Canada was not something that I expected to do in 2016. I was not expecting to travel out of the country this year. I was busy promoting my music when I got a call from Canada. So I had to put myself together and off I went to Canada. The show in Canada was fantastic.
“In 2017, I’m looking forward to promoting my music and also hoping that more calls come from promoters abroad.”
Femi Lasode (film/music producer): “I had many unique experiences because God has been kind to me. I was able to travel to America after a long time. I travelled to America where I attended a global business conference. There, I delivered a paper on the international distribution of Nollywood movies. The theme of the conference was ‘Advancement in Globalisation’, which was in line with my PhD thesis, which is the impact of globalisation on the distribution of Nigerian movies.
“I gave them the abstract of my PhD work. That was a unique experience for me. Before then, I had not travelled to America in about 10 years. That conference gave me the opportunity. Also in 2017, I am looking forward to being involved in tourism thrust or programme.
“Whatever programme they are involved in, I will be involved in it one way or another. Tourism is a hidden jewel which will be a good earner for this country. That will be my goal in 2017.”
Funmi Ajila (fashion designer): “My unique experience this year was the clothing of 5,000 children within a month. And that was achieved between me and my friends and colleagues in the industry.
“After being in the industry for three decades, I can tell what clothing means to an individual. We had gone beyond the wearing of clothes; it was about covering the body for the children at the five IDP camps; we went to in Abuja and sent some to in Maiduguri.
“They needed clothes to cover the body. It was a time to clothe people who are not celebrities but are celebrities in their own rights, people who in later life may become celebrities. Covering the body from the hazards of the environment had become a total necessity to people in the camp and I’m glad that we were able to meet that need to a great extent.
“More importantly also, this year has been good to us as a designer’s body. A division of the World Bank came knocking on our doors recently. Little did we know that we were being watched from afar. They came all the way from Washington DC and they came to ask us about our challenges as fashion designers in Nigeria. They told us that they want to partake and assist us in the different areas that we may be having challenges. We thank God for that. We know that next year will be greater for us as fashion designers because as it is now again, there is much to be done.”
Princess Bunmi Jegede (business woman): “For me, my unique experience this year has been the way President Muhammadu Buhari has been carrying on with the affairs of the country. True, we know that things have been tough but we still need to have patience with this government. Despite the recession, we have been able to learn from our past mistakes. Now, we know that we Nigerians caused our present problems.
“The President is trying to make us repent and retrace our footsteps. So we need to be patient with the government. We can see that President Buhari means well for the nation. The situation definitely is tough for many people right now but the victory is just around the corner. Once we encourage him and he gets it right, we will all begin to enjoy this country.
“I thank God, business may not have been fantastic, but I know God is taking this country to a good place very soon.”
Ayo Balogun (musician): “My unique experience this year is that I was involved in many celebrations this year. This year, I worked harder, I was healthy and I give thanks to God for that. I was able to get more and more engagements throughout the year despite the recession. My genre of music was able to get more and more attention and is still making waves.
“My colleagues were also able to enjoy patronage, and during the year, we got more and more people coming into the industry. That also means that there are more upcoming juju musicians in town now. I am proud of that, and again, the 70th year celebration of King Sunny Ade brought us together and we were out celebrating and enjoying ourselves. As a musicians body, we will keep moving to greater heights in 2017.”
Bashorun Dele Momodu (publisher): “My unique experiences were my involvement in Ghanaian politics. Earlier this year, Sky Ghana asked me what my experience was on President Mahama’s tenure in office, I simply innocently replied that I was amazed by the work he had done in the last four years. It went viral on the internet. And people said he had paid me to campaign for him. But it wasn’t so. But that gingered me into doing a story on him in Ovation. We eventually circulated this all around Ghana, a major project undertaken by Ovation magazine this year. So many people liked what we did and of course some other people did not.
“Others wondered what a Nigerian was doing in Ghanaian politics. But then, we have always been supporting the presidency in Ghana, at least the last four governments. I am proud that we were able to do that work. He may have lost the election, but I know that in future, Ghanaians will be proud of his contributions in all the development areas that we featured in Ovation magazine.”
